“A tail of two halves again, and I’m getting a little tired of saying it.”

That was the short but telling assessment SEB football coach Justin Anthony had for another Friday night that had plenty of promise, yet ended in a 28-14 loss to Liberty County in Brooklet.

Southeast Bulloch went blow for blow with the Panthers early on and took a 14-7 lead in the first half, only to allow 21 unanswered to end the night. The loss drops SEB to 3-5 on the season and 1-3 in region play. With just two games to go, the Jackets will likely need to win out – and possibly get some outside help – if they want to advance to the state playoffs.

Anthony noted that the drive and determination have shown up in both halves throughout the season, but that a lack of experience could be proving the difference in tight games that aren’t going the Jackets’ way.

“We just can’t finish the deal right now,” Anthony said. I think our kids, with inexperience at certain spots, just don’t know how to finish yet.

“You look at Liberty and they’re a good team with a lot of seniors who have played a bunch. When they got some plays in the second half, you could kind of feel the shift. (Liberty) is playing with momentum and our kids are just playing to survive. They’re playing hard, but we need to learn how to finish strong.”

Jordan Dawson opened the scoring with a 3-yard touchdown run to spot the Jackets a 7-0 lead but Liberty struck back early in the second quarter as a long run by Noel Best set up a 5-yard plunge by Jaeir Roberts to square the game at 7-7.

Aaden Peterson rushed in from 3 yards out to once again put SEB ahead before halftime, but that was where the momentum stopped for the home team. Roberts ripped off a 28-yard scoring run on the Panthers’ first drive of the second half and went ahead for the first time later in the third quarter when Roberts found Aaron Brown on an 8-yard pitch and catch for a 22-14 lead.

With Southeast Bulloch unable to provide a counterpunch, Liberty pulled away late in the fourth quarter when Best run in from a yard out.

The Yellow Jackets will have some extra time to recover as they enter into a bye next week. They will host New Hampstead in their final home game on Oct. 30 before finishing the regular season on Nov. 6 at Long County.